This invention relates to a motorcycle having steered front and rear wheels and more particularly to an improved steering system for the rear wheel and an improved suspension system for it.
Recently it has been realized that the handling of a motorcycle can be significantly improved if the rear wheel is supported so that it may be steered and is mechanically coupled to the front wheel so the front and rear wheels will be steered together. The steering relationship between the front and rear wheels can be very critical to the handling. In addition, the type of terrain over which the motorcycle is being ridden, the speed of travel and a number of other factors including rider preference can necessitate changes in the steering ratio to suit cetain of these conditions.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved steering arrangement for the front and rear wheels of a vehicle.
It is another object of this invention to provide a rear wheel steering mechanism that permits adjustment in the ratio of steering between the front and rear wheels.
It is a yet further object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified arrangement for permitting adjustment in the steering ratio between the front and rear wheels of a vehicle such as a motorcycle.
One well known type of vehicle suspension system embodies the so called "trailing arm" wherein a wheel is supported for rotation about an axis that is disposed at or contiguous to one end of a suspension arm that is pivotally supported at its other end on the vehicle body. A suspension media such as springs and/or shock absorbers are interposed between the trailing arm and the vehicle body for controlling the suspension movement.
This type of suspension system is used quite widely in connection with the rear wheel of a motorcycle. When employed in connection with a motorcycle, the contact patch between the rear wheel and the ground may change relative to the contact patch of the front wheel with the ground under suspension travel. This change in dimension effectively changes the wheelbase of the motorcycle during suspension travel. Such wheelbase changes can seriously affect the handling of the motorcycle, particularly where the rear wheel is also steered, and can be undesirable.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved suspension system embodying a trailing arm and in which the wheelbase does not change significantly during suspension travel.
It is a further objection of this invention to provide an improved rear wheel suspension system for a motorcycle.